The BBC's Duncan Hewitt"There has as yet been no formal request for political asylum from the Karmapa" real 28k

Monday, 10 January, 2000, 17:21 GMT
Asylum plea for Karmapa Lama

The Karmapa Lama left before dawn for an unknown destination

The Tibetan Government in-exile has expressed hope that India would respond favourably to any request for asylum for the 14-year-old Buddhist leader who fled Chinese-ruled Tibet.

However, no formal request for asylum had been made on his behalf, Tashi Wangdi, Tibetan Minister for Religion and Culture said.

"India has this great tradition of being very generous for people coming for shelter.

India has this great tradition of being very generous for people coming for shelter

Tashi Wangdi

"We have been coming here for so many decades, if there is a strong request for asylum it should be on a humanitarian consideration," reports quote him as saying.

The Dalai Lama is reported to have sought asylum for the boy in India.

The Asian Age newspaper said foreign and home ministry officials had met the Dalai Lama over the weekend and would hold a news briefing on Monday.

The 17th Karmapa Lama arrived in India last week after an arduous eight-day journey by car and on foot across the Himalayas.

He has since been moved to a secure location near the Dalai Lama's monastery in Dharmasala, away from the pressures of international media attention and the many exiled Tibetans hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

There has been tight security since the Karmapa Lama arrived in Dharamsala